The mayor of Dubuque, Iowa, says a new fund will help with seed money for sustainable waterfront development in cities and towns along the Mississippi River.
Roy Buol spoke Wednesday as co-chair of the Mississippi River Cities and Towns Initiative: mayors of 65 riverfront cities and towns in 10 states. Twenty-five of them are meeting in New Orleans.
American Water, of Voorhees, New Jersey, gave $15,000 to start the fund.
Initiative director Colin Wellenkamp says the fund will provide money for early planning, engineering and environmental assessments. He says that's often the hardest part of getting money for a project.
Buol also says Home Depot — one of the nation's largest container importers — has joined the group's push to bring container barges back to the Mississippi River.
